Robert Billard

Robert Billard is a reporter for Military.com, where he specializes in coverage of issues that affect Marines, military and their families.

He is a Marine Corps veteran with multiple combat deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Resolute Support Mission, and others. His work ranges from military family matters, to current events, to everyday issues impacting lives of those on active duty, and their respective families.

Latest Articles

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers remarks during a War Department Address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Sept. 30, 2025. (DoW photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Aiko Bongolan)

Train Hard - What Marines Need to Know About SecWar's Guidance

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth did not mince his words during a recent speech to senior leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico...

U.S. Capital Building (DVIDS, photo by Pamela Moore)

How the Government Shutdown Impacts Marines

As of 1 October 2025, the lapse in appropriations (AKA the “government shutdown”) is already having impacts on Marines and...

French Foreign Legion Award Ceremony at Twentynine Palms (DVIDS, photo by Cpl Judith Ann Lazaro)

U.S. Marines and French Legionnaires Tackle Desert Warfare

In the scorching expanse of California's Mojave Desert, U.S. Marines and French Foreign Legionnaires recently wrapped up a...

U.S. Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) participate in the wargame “Down Range” at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (DVIDS, photo by Cpl Marc Imprevert)

Marine Corps Fight Club: Marines Use Wargaming to Hone Cognitive Skills

In warfare, outthinking the enemy is a critical component to outmaneuvering them. In order to best tip the scales of victory...

A U.S. Marine operates a computer inside a vehicle during the Cyber Electronic Warfare Course at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California (DVIDS, photo by Cpl Jennessa Davey)

How the Marines Harness AI to Gain Edge Over Adversaries

In an era where information dominance defines victory, the U.S. Marine Corps is aggressively integrating Artificial...

How the Military can Streamline Moves for Families with Special Needs

Moving to a new duty station is a hallmark of military life, but for families enrolled in the Department of Defense's...

Military News

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Most Popular Military News

Pvt. Paul Douglas, age 50, performs a rifle inspection with his drill instructor aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot S.C., 1942. Douglas, at age 50 was the oldest recruit in the history of Parris Island, and went on to become a purple heart recipient and Chicago senator (DVIDS).

At 50, He Survived Marine Boot Camp — Then Fought at Peleliu and Okinawa

When 50-year-old Paul Douglas showed up at Marine Corps boot camp in 1942, the white-haired economics professor looked more...

Trump Administration Threatens No Back Pay for Federal Workers in Shutdown

President Donald Trump’s administration is warning of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a shutdown.

(Staff Sgt. Nancy Spicer/29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

Teen Cadet Says He Was Beaten, Concussed at Camp at Aberdeen Proving Ground

In early August 2022, 17-year-old Nathanael Royal called his parents and begged them to bring him home before he got attacked...

Battle of Franklin. November 30, 1864 (Library of Congress).

The Civil War Battle Where a West Point Professor Defeated His Confederate Student

The Civil War ripped apart nearly every bond Americans shared — classmates, friends, even family members found themselves on...

Army Vet Sentenced to Year In Prison For $80,000 Fraud, Stolen Valor

Sharon Toney-Finch, 43, was indicted in April 2024 on four charges: wire fraud, stolen valor, theft of government funds, and...

Vietnam veterans of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, stand with Army Maj. Gen. John W. Weidner, chief of staff for U.S. Strategic Command, Col. Robert Newbauer, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District, American Legion Post 1 Commander Lennie Roth and others after a ceremony Sept. 18 at American Legion Post 1 in Omaha, Nebraska. Fourteen veterans of Bravo Company were honored for acts of valor and meritorious service in Vietnam more than 50 years ago. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Delanie Stafford)

Bravo Company Vietnam Veterans Honored with Long-Overdue Bronze Stars

While it took more than five decades, 14 veterans of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, were...

Latest Military Videos

Qualifying Life Events for Tricare

To make changes to Tricare outside the annual open enrollment period, these times usually correspond to life events or...

Trump Envoy Witkoff, Adviser Kushner Arrive in Egypt for Gaza Peace Talks as Optimism for Deal Grows

U.S. President Donald Trump’s top adviser for the Middle East and other senior officials joined the third day of...

Texas National Guard Troops Gathered at Army Training Center Southwest of Chicago

National Guard members from Texas were at an Army Reserve center in Illinois on Tuesday, the most visible sign...

Smoke Rises in Wadi Gaza as Top Officials Join Israel-Hamas Talks in Egypt

Smoke caused by Israeli strikes billowed into the sky over Wadi Gaza on Wednesday as senior officials joined the...

Investigations and Features

In One of the Marines' Most Iconic Jobs, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide

Marine Corps drill instructors are a national symbol of discipline. But for some, their imposing persona belies a dark...

Army Capt. Jeremy Kuykendall and his wife Kate, cradle their daughter

Unsupervised: Military Child Care Centers Slow to Report Abuse with Little Oversight

A Military.com investigation into military day care centers revealed that service branch rules generally prioritize...

Army News

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Racheal Balke, a current operations intelligence noncommissioned officer assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), conducted a wargaming event as part of an ongoing deployment readiness exercise at Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, Sep. 3, 2025. The wargaming phase, part of the joint planning process, utilized artificial intelligence tools to stress-test the command's response to real-world crises (U.S. Army photo by Brian Andries, DVIDS).

The Army’s New Intel Playbook: How AI and Data Are Rewriting the Battlefield

The U.S. Army is betting big on artificial intelligence and data to reshape how intelligence is gathered, analyzed, and...

Driver Sentenced in Crash that Killed Lewis-McChord Soldier, a Father of 4

Ryan Edward Grems, 38, pleaded guilty in July to failure to remain at an accident resulting in death and theft of a motor...

Navy News

Trump USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier

Trump Doesn't Let Shutdown Interfere With Celebrating Navy's 250th Anniversary

The president spoke on a pier in between two towering Navy vessels, an aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault ship.

Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, commander, Naval Education and Training Command (NETC), delivers remarks during NETC’s change of command ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, June 18, 2025. The museum recently opened an exhibit honoring Vietnam prisoners of war. (United States Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Zachary Melvin)

National Naval Aviation Museum Honors Vietnam POWs with Emotional Exhibit

A new exhibit at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, is giving attendees a rare glimpse into life for...

Air Force News

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview

Veterans, Who Saw One of Their Own Arrested by ICE and Charged, Say Feds Are Undermining Democracy

Days after a 70-year-old Air Force veteran was among five people charged while protesting outside a suburban U.S. Immigration...

Airman Confronts and Shoots Armed Neighbor on Deadly Rampage, Iowa Officials Say

Harrison Friar, a senior airman, was with his wife and children at their home in Glenwood on the evening of Aug. 6 when they...

Space Force News

U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rachel Harmon and Master Sgt. Tom Anderson, weapons loaders assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, checks an inert GBU 12 laser guided missile on an MQ-9 Reaper at Springfield-Beckley Air National Guard Base in Springfield, Ohio.

Two Space Force Units Bring the 'Invisible Front Line' to Ohio

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting is planned for Friday for the Space Intelligence Production Cell at the Springfield-Beckley Air...

A painting of a Defense Support Program satellite from the Air Force Art collection. DSP provides a variety of national security capabilities. Its flagship mission of launch detection was made famous during the Cold War. (U.S. Air Force image)

Clearing The Orbits: Space Force Partnerships In Orbital Cleanup

The growing congestion of Earth orbit has raised risks to satellites, space stations, and long-term space sustainability. The...

Marine Corps News

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) questions U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Trump Targets Blumenthal, Calling for Investigation into Senator's Vietnam Service Claims

President Donald Trump is targeting U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal again after Connecticut’s senior U.S. senator grilled U.S...

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nosikahhokli Melendez, a fire support Marine with 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, prepares to depart on a MV-22 Osprey, attached to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, during exercise Keen Sword 25 (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Manuel A. Serrano)

Marines' AI Edge with Project Dynamis

Discover how the Marine Corps' Project Dynamis integrates AI to enhance joint force operations against peer threats. Explore...

Coast Guard News

Lt. Cmdr. Brendan Harris receives new shoulder boards from his children during a promotion ceremony June 21, 2018, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training in Charleston, South Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard/Ryan Dickinson)

Coast Guard Ranks: A Complete Guide to Enlisted and Officer Ranks

Explore U.S. Coast Guard ranks from seaman to admiral. Learn about the rank structure, pay grades, insignia, and promotion...

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Motor Lifeboat CG-36538 was restored by dozens of volunteers after more than 8 years of hard work.

Cape May Maritime Museum Brings 73-Year-Old Coast Guard Lifeboat Back to Life

The CG-36538 was built in a Baltimore shipyard in Curtis Bay in 1952 and was primarily used for winter rescues and winter...